CIHM 

ICIVIH 

Microfiche 

Collection  de 

Series 

microfiches 

({Monographs) 

(monographies) 

Canadian  Instituta  for  Historical  Microraproductions  /  inttitut  Canadian  da  microraproductions  hittoriq 


uas 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes  /  Notes  technique  et  bibliographlques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  tiest  original 
copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this  copy  which 
may  be  bibliographically  unique,  which  may  alter  any  of 
the  images  in  the  reproduction,  or  which  may 
significantly  change  the  usual  method  of  filming  are 
checked  below. 


D 


Coloured  covers  / 
Couverture  de  couieur 


I     I  Covers  damaged/ 

' — '  Couverture  endommagte 

I     I  Covers  restored  and/or  laminated  / 

— '  Couverture  restaur^e  et/ou  pellicul4e 

I     I  Cover  title  missing /Letitrede  couverture  manque 

I     I  Coloured  maps/ Cartes  g^ographiques  en  couieur 

D 
D 

D 


Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)  / 
Encre  de  couieur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations  / 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couieur 

Bound  witi-i  other  material  / 
Relid  avec  d'autres  documents 


I     1     Only  editton  available  / 
' — '      Seule  edKton  disponible 

I  [  Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin  /  La  reliure  serree  peut 
causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la  distorsk>n  le  kmg  de 
la  marge  intdrieure. 

I  I  Blank  leaves  added  during  restoratnns  may  £^)pear 
'— '  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these  have 
been  omitted  from  filming  /  II  se  peut  que  certaines 
pages  blanches  ajout^es  tors  d'une  restauration 
apparaissent  dans  le  texte,  mais,  torsque  ceta  dtait 
possible,  ces  pages  n'ont  pas  et6  filmdes. 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  examplaire  qu'il  lui  a 
6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details  de  cet  exem- 
plaire  qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du  point  de  vue  bibli- 
ographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier  une  image  reproduite, 
ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une  modiftoations  dans  la  m6th- 
ode  normale  de  filmage  sont  iiidiqu^s  ci-dessous. 

I     I      Cotoured  pages/ Pages  de  couieur 

I     [      Pages  damaged/ Pages endommag6es 

I     I      Pages  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
' — '      Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pellteuldes 

ryf     Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed  / 
^^^      Pages  d6color6es,  tachetdes  ou  pk)u6es 

I     [     Pages  detached/ Pages  d6tach«es 

r^l     Showthrough  /  Transparence 

I     I     Quality  of  print  varies  / 

' — '      Quality  inigale  de  I'impresston 

I     I      Includes  supptementary  material  / 

Comprend  du  materiel  suppl^mentaire 

I  I  Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
' — '  slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  ref limed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image  /  Les  pages  ' 
totalement  ou  partiellement  obscurcies  par  un 
feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure,  etc.,  ont  6t6  filmdes 
a  nouveau  de  fa^on  k  obtenir  la  mellleure 
image  possible. 

I  I  Opposing  pages  with  varying  colouration  or 
— '  discolourations  are  filmed  twice  to  ensure  the 
best  possible  image  /  Les  pages  s'opposant 
ayant  des  colorations  variables  ou  des  dteoi- 
orattons  sont  film^es  deux  fois  afin  d'obtenir  la 
meilleur  image  possible. 


D 


AddHtonaJ  comments  / 
Commentaires  supptementaites: 


This  ittm  is  f  ilmad  at  the  raduction  ratio  chackad  balow/ 

Ca  documant  ast  fUmi  au  taux  da  riduction  ifidiqirf  ci-dassour. 

^OX  14X  18X 


12X 


16X 


20X 


22X 

m 


2«X 


30X 


24X 


28X 


D 

32X 


Th«  sepv  filmsd  h«r«  has  b««n  rsproducad  thanks 
to  tha  gsnarosity  of: 

National  Library  of  Canada 


L'axsmplaira  film*  fut  raproduit  grAca  A  la 
0«n«resit«  da: 

Bibliothiqua  nationala  du  Canada 


Tha  imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
pesaibia  censMaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  Itaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacif ications. 


Las  imagas  suivantas  ont  *ti  raproduiios  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin.  eompta  tanu  da  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattatd  da  I'axamplaira  film*,  at  an 
conformity  avac  laa  conditions  du  contrat  da 
fiimaga. 


Original  copios  in  printad  papar  eovars  ara  filmad 
baginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad  or  illuatratad  impraa> 
sion,  or  tha  back  covar  wKan  appropriata.  All 
othar  original  copias  ara  filmad  baginning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
sion.  and  anding  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illuatratad  improssion. 


Laa  aaamplairas  originaux  dont  la  eouvartura  tn 
papiar  ast  imprim^  sont  filmto  an  commandant 
par  la  promiar  plat  at  an  tarminant  soit  par  la 
darniira  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprsinta 
d'imprassien  ou  d'illustration.  soit  par  la  sacond 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  las  sutras  axamplairas 
originaux  sont  filmds  1%  comman9ant  par  la 
pramiAra  paga  qui  eompona  una  amprsinta 
d'imprassion  ou  d'illustration  st  an  tarminant  par 
la  darni*ra  paga  qui  comporta  una  taila 
amprainta. 


Tha  laat  racordad  frama  on  aach  microfiche 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  -^^  (moaning  "CON* 
TINUEO").  or  tha  symbol  V  (moaning  "END"), 
whichavar  applias. 


Un  das  symbolos  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
darniAra  imaga  da  ehaqua  microfiche,  salon  la 
caa:  la  symbols  <^  signifio  "A  SUIVRE".  la 
symbolo  ▼  signifio  "FIN". 


Maps,  platas,  charu.  ate,  may  ba  filmad  at 
diffarant  raduction  ratios.  Thoso  too  iarga  to  ba 
antiraly  included  in  ona  axposura  ara  filmad 
baginning  in  tha  upper  left  hand  comer,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bonom.  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Lea  cartaa.  planches,  tableaux,  etc..  pauvant  itra 
filmAs  A  dee  taux  da  reduction  diffArants. 
Lorsqua  la  document  est  trop  grand  pour  strs 
raproduit  an  un  soul  ciichA.  il  est  filmi  *  psrtir 
do  Tangle  supdrieur  gauche,  de  gauche  k  droita. 
at  de  haut  mn  baa.  an  prenant  la  nombre 
d'imegea  ndeassaire.  Lea  diagrammea  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdtfiode. 


1  2  3 


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2 

3 

4 

5 

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MKROCOfV  RISOUITKm  TBT  CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


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J  /APPLIED  IIVHGE    Inc 

3^  16S3    :asl  Moin  SIrMt 

VB  Rochester.  New  York        14609       USA 

S  (716)  482 -0300 -Phone 

S  (716)  288-  S989  -Fox 


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!••  OF... 


Hon.  Edward  Blake,  E  P. 


mnitcb  f  rieb  Xeaguc 


OF  AMERICA 


Faneuil  Hall,  Boston,  Maaa. 

...October  20-21,    1902... 


Kmiua«  PriAter 


^vMOBf  wMi. 


#i3 , 


IS  '• 


Speech  of  Don.  Cbwarb  Slake 

At  the  United  Irish  League  Convention,  Paneuil  Hail.  Boston, 

October  21st. 


•i 


Hon.  Edward  Blake  said :  — 

Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  :  I  was  rather  dismayed  when  I 
heard  the  President  say  a  moment  ago  that  he  was  reserving  me  for  a  little 
while,  for  my  apprehension  this  good  long  while  was  that  I  was  being  per- 
haps reserved  too  long.  (Applause  and  laughter.)  I  am  here  to  extend  the 
congratulations  not  of  a  leader  or  of  an  envoy  or  del^ate,  for  I  am  none  such  • 
but  after  you  have  heard  those  who  occupy  tliat  representative  position  you  are 
pleased  to  listen  to  the  humble  words  of  one  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Irish 
parliamentary  party  (applause)  whose  only  title  to  speak  here  is  the  kind  invi- 
tation which  was  extended  to  him  by  the  national  committee  tc  come  amongst 
you  as  your  guest,  and  to  renew  some  old  friendships  made  in  former  visits  to 
cities  of  the  Union,  particularly  to  Boston,  and  to  make  some  new  friends  In 
these  pleasing  occupations  I  hc.e  been  more  successful  than  I  ventured  to  ex- 
pect. I  shall  not  hope  to  please  you  with  oratory,  but  shall  address  you  with 
plain  statements,  made  iu  plain  words  by  a  plain  man  to  plain  people  like  him- 
self, and  if  I  can  sit  down  witiiout  wholly  disappointing  vou,  my  expectations 
will  be  more  than  gratified.     (Applause.) 

I  add  my  heartiest  congratulations  to  those  who  have  organized  and  to  those 
who  constitute  this  great  and  representative  Convention,  so  impoitant  in  its 
aggregate  numbers,  so  important  in  the  width  ana  variety  of  the  sovereign  States 
from  wh'ch  it  comes,  so  important  in  the  character  and  quality  of  the  indivi- 
duals who  compose  it,  so  earnest,  so  able,  so  determined  in  the  cause  in  which 
it  IS  engaged.  It  is  a  constant  delight  to  me  to  see  — and  gloomy  indeed 
would  be  the  prospects  of  our  cause  were  that  not  to  be  see-  longer,  —  it  is  a 
constant  delight  to  me  to  see  the  continuing  fervor  and  zeal  of  Irishmen  born  in 
Ireland,  though  there  no  more,  for  the  country  which  they  have  long  since  left. 
It  IS  a  still  greater  delight  to  see  that  in  the  generations  which  had  not  the 
gain,  or  the  loss,  of  being  bom  on  the  old  sod,  in  generations  born  and  brough* 
up  on  other  soils  and  in  other  climes  and  under  different  and,  alas!  for  Ireland 
in  many  respects  happier  conditions,  there  is  preserved  even  amongst  these 
a  genuine  and  earnest  attachment  for  the  soil  which  they  may  never  have  seen 
but  which  was  that  of  their  fathers  and  of  their  mothers  and  of  their  race,  r  Apl 
plause.)  ^    *^ 


and 
h 

im- 


I  hold  it  to  be  a  wonderful  thing  that  you  have  keot  alive  that  ..m^  #«i 
tag  of  affection  »o  »ucce».fully  in  thit  country.     iVecSnize  the  difflV^,  f 

t7e  old  filf".'H**;s  ?!^  *'•  r"""y  '""«"'"«  difficultfe.  «  tS  . 
tfte  old  fades  and  the  interest  of  the  new  -rows  stronirer      It  i.  i  » 

portant  that  we  should  recognise  that  and  guard  4.2"'         ^  '  "• 

And  How? 

*h,  «.u*ir*  °f  *.«'***  »dvantage  on  this  continent,  on  which  from  the  oole  to 

?o:pent  Xt^e^rSi'efdJa^?;  oV^jSoT  "^  ^'^^  "'  -"  "  -'°-' 
bv  law  marf?rni?*!!i*  r. '""^^ ''t*«>.  which  is  not  license,  but  liberty  regulated 
all,  1     natter  what  their  race,  have  a  natural  tendenc-  and  a  wish  for  the  « 
tension  of  that  liberty  and  freedom  which  they  prise  for  themJ^lve    and  there  ?s 

«emX?K'  1"°"/''  '',""y  •^Z  »°'"«*''»»  P'^^o'''^  lovefor  the  iVuh  cause  »" 
exemplified  by  freedom  from  e.  d  to  end  of  the  continent.    But  we  want  iJ  thow 

who  spring  from  our  .ace,  more  than  that.     We  want  that  th-v  ThoMiJ  «»  ' 

for  SanT.?iI'°™  those  who  may  be  bom  on  thesod.%eain  some leeC 
for  Ireland  as  the  country  from  which  they  sprang  (applause),  and  some  affee 
tion  and  sympathy  and  passion  for  that couit,? whfre  Seir  fo  rfathersTvedand 
loved  and  suffered  and  died,     r  Applause.)  rwamers  lived  and 

fo  «»J?"*  *°  "how  you  by  a  humble  instance,  important  only  in  the  general  sense 
to  our  cause  how  happy  the  condition  of  the  peoples  that  inhabit  this  contl^eS 
S  mvsI«^'Sirh\K  "  »/«'y»i»;nble  instance  ^hich  is  innoseni^S 
I^7h^„  if*  ^'•""K'l  t*'^  "?fta"ce  belongs  to  me.  I  happen  to  belong  C  r'eed 
J  ri™  J  ^t'V^'i  ^y  '^'"''y  '"**  traditional  politics  to  the  Irish  ascendfncy  t, 
n^KU  'If'  *"  *''*  y*"  ^^98  speaking  to  a  number  of  my  politick  Wenis  i^ 
Dublin  when  we  were  Pranging  for  the  commemoration  of  the  year  ,798  They 
asked  me  to  speak  to  them,  and  I  told  them  that  while  heartily  approvbe  of  thS 
commemoration  in  which  I  intended  to  take  part,  I  yet  could  not  cSmlav  her 
jjditory  right  to  be  one  of  the  participants  in  the  celebratioT  ?  went  onTo  say 
la^M.  r*  *'"f  '^^-  *"u  '"*="r  °'  •"'""  •>=»d  suffered  in  the  rebellion,  and  °he?e 
tT,non"'VH"".'u  "''"'L-  I  'V^'  "  G^tlemen,  stop  a  moment.  Don't  cheer 
too  soon.     I  don't  know  which  of  your  ancestors  it  was  that  shot  mine  "    >  Ad- 

f 'o?'98!'"^''"'^     ^"*  ''°' ""'  ""  ** ''''  ''•*d  °*  '^^  tr-'P'  by  Sie  iLu?: 

Secretary  O'Callaghan  :  "  Redmond's  probably."  (Great  laughter. ) 
.J'^'^9^}etdto;idd  that  I  had  another  disqualification,  that  a  venr  well- 
J?!l\"Jf  ^«  °^  "?'»•  had  suffered  death  at  the  hand^  of  ht,  te^amry. 
(Laughter.)  The  inference  to  be  drawn  from  this  is  that  had  I  been  born  and 
L«Li'±°**  "is  possible  that  I  might  have  remained  in  the  ftJse  f Sh  of 
the  ascendancy  party.  But  born  as  I  was  on  the  soil  of  free  and  democratic 
Canada  (applause)  with  the  earliest  memory  of  my  life  as  a  child  of  four  years! 
the  Canadian  rebellion  of  1832,  I  cannot  remember  an  hour  that  I  could  think 
at  all  on  political  subjects  in  which  I  was  not  in  faith  anH  conviction  an  ardent 
bdiever  m  Uberty  and  Home  Rule  and  the  right  of  self-government.     (Ap- 


^ 


Whtt  it  It,  while  all  this  U  in  the  tir,  whit  is  it  that  we  want,  we  Irish. 
Americans?  for  I  am  an  Irish- American  like  you.    I  deny  your  richt  to  ulic 

thf.  iTnenrdT" 'i  ^r""''""  ^'Pl^'*"-  *»**  '*»«'«"> '  "'^ '/  »'*l"" 
the  continent  does  not  belong  ic  you  yet  (laughter  ai.d  aDulmse)  an^  th« 

spirit  of  freedom  which  we  maintain  with^oi  pefh.pa  will  en*2bliTs  to  "cep  it 
aLT/'T  ^  PP'*"*''."<f  '»"«^'t«')  But  I  say  fhis.  that  we  want  a.  K 
amoni  .n  Ihf  !!;k'  *"  "*""*!?  °"'  P^*"'  *•»  'P"**'  »•»«  "?»»'  0"  t^e  Irish  cause 

m2es  .v«  in  th?.  Iff""  "**  P*"°""  '"'*  "=»"  P*'*  *>'  »"«"  »'°  vast  conn 
munities,  aye  in  this  effort  we  must  use  our  power  to  spread  the  liffht.  ave  we 

Td  orj.^nThlM  *°  "r  **^''  i!""  '•!'**  '°'  """*'^"  *»•*  ""  our  ?hi  dre^n  't^ 
toipreldTel^ht  ''°"     ~"^^^  (^PpUuse.)    In  ord« 

What  it  WantMl  ? 
Why,  that  is  wanted  most  of  all  which  is  wanted  for  an  honest  and  true  faith - 
knowledge  of  facts  and  of  circumstances.  Spread  the  light  and  spread  i  where 
you  can  best  spread  it,  in  your  own  homes.  Teach  vo5r  children  the  st^i  3 
S«i  ;;;^"f -'kP*''^','"  »he''  br^sts  the  sacred  /ame  of  patrioti.«7,Ske 
P,«;/T^  /  .v^"*"-^  I  rejoiced  to  see  the  insertion  at  the  suggestion  of  the 
Tm^h  ?'  ?•  T"*  "history"  as  amongst  he  subjects,  the  propagation  of 
Joi'tiT  '°  ^  *•  u*'r  °^  ****  ^•8"«'  (Appiiuse.)  A;e,  we  h°ve  suffered 
.,?ff  ^  5°*  '*!  *"''  '■*^"*""  *°  ^''^  ^'•«"»'»  people;  on  thi^  question  inh^e 
suffered  from  Ignorance  more  than  any  other  thing.     (ApplauseT   LeTlris^ 

chu"dr"n     '*  '^  ""'  *"  '^'"  "'^'*'"'  '"^  »*»  teach  their  histo^toSeil 

^  AMnfiir''!  "''r*  ^l  ^fJ^-^  *'»»*°'y°'  I«'«d  a  daily-read  book  in  Irish  families. 
(Avplause.)  I  should  like  to  see  large  editions^  notably  from  the  time  of 
Grattan's  parliament  down,  issued  and  bought  and  read  by  the  Irish  o"od£ 

-  a^.ViSi'^Jrr  ^Tr^^K^T  *^*'^"  *°  «»*«'•  So  wouTd  your  cEildf« 
themTflrK  t  A  ^°°*'«dge  which  is  power,  a  knowledge  which  would  give 
them  a  faith  based  upon  reason  and  would  enable  them  to  communicate  Sat 
faith  to  others  and  to  strengthen  the  cause  everywhere.  ( ApplaTe  ^ 
»h».  T°riif*  *u'  'f  °'  *''"!  proceedings  when  so  much  has  been  said,  I  think 
.hat  I  will  ask  your  leave  to  deal  with  one  single  topic  which  is,  after  ?1 .  an  all- 
embracing  topic,  aud  upon  whicii  *hi:.  very  knowledge  is  perhip7-i  dawsav 

"°on°w;?h"""  'Tr*^**  P"""'-'  ^'  y°""*"'  ^'^^  '  »™  •^dre'sing  oti";  2 
-on  which  <now  edije  is  v^^y  much  wanting.  What  I  am  going  to  tell  you  is 
wha  IS  the  stite  of  things  i;a  Ireland  to-day  with  reference  to  libeSy;  but  before 
I  tell  It  to  you  I  wart  to  f,nd  out  x.hat  is  liberty  according  to  ouV  concept  oS! 
A  poet  once  said  in  worda  often  quoted :  "  For  forms  of  goven-tini  T4  S 
contest;  wha<  'er  is  be.,i  administered  is  best."  I  do  not  iu  the  least  .^e 
Good  forms  e.pec.aly  in  s.  far  as  those  forms  are  forms  which  guard  andSe*: 
m.„S  ,1  v°  '°"""'?«™-.''t»  upon  the  principle,  of  liberty  and  give  fundi 
?uf tL  r/v?.*!f.  '°i  f  tT"'  *«""r  oppression,  are  not  merelfimportSJ 
h^lf  fc.fi  -^  .?"»*  ^  ^"^  *«^*^  "^  '"  *^**  »•'«  administration  of  thr  law  is 
half  the  battle,  and  that  we  must  not  be  contented  with  good  laws  we  must  Sm 

s't^ntitu  f?*?.  ^d"""'? ^^'^^  of  th  ,se  laws  in  order  tha?  we  m^yCe^re  su^ 
stantials  of  liberty.  Forms  may  be  twisted,  laws  may  be  abused,  and  the  name 
of  freedom  may  be  so  worked  as  to  result  in  slavery ;  and  such  I  calmly  andT 
hberately  s2y  is  the  case  in  Ireland  to-day.  i  caimiy  ana  de- 

.v,i"^  *''**  ?"/  "'1°*  °*  ^"''''"  J»  '"^  substance  slavery.  We  lire  under  a 
sham  system  of  freedom  and  of  equal  rights.     We  have  a  common  parliament 


vhich  dealt  not  merely  with  common,  joint  «nd  imperial  affair; ,  but  deala  alao 
with  the  excluaively  local  ccncernt,  with  those  thingt  which  come  home  to  t.e 
buaineaaend  the  education  and  the  aentiment!!  and  the  daily  life  of  each  of  tne 
different  peoplea,  which  deala  with  all  these  absolutely  itself.  In  that  common 
parliament  each  of  the  islands  is  represented,  and  they  grumble  very  much, 
having  stripped  our  country  of  half  ita  population  and  made  or  left  it  relatively 
weakened,  they  grumble  very  much  because  the  bargain  of  the  Union  gave  us 
103  members,  and  they  are  threatening  now  to  cut  us  down.  Well,  all  looks  fair 
enough.  There  we  are.  They  all  deal,  they  aay,  with  the  affairs  of  each  coun- 
try, and  with  the  common  affairs ;  but  the  system  obviously  lacks  security  for 
freedom,  it  obviously  gives  power  to  the  predominant  partner  with  its  five  or  six 
hundred  members  to  do  exactly  what  it  pleases  not  merely  with  reference  to  its 
own  affairs  or  with  reference  to  the  common  affairs,  but  with  reference  to  the 
local  affairs,  with  reference  to  the  affairs  which  are  exclusively  those  of  the 
weaker  partner.  It  obviously  ia  possible  that  that  should  be  the  case,  and.  alas, 
it  is  the  case  in  fact 

What  doM  PrMdom  Conslit  of  I 

Freedom,  according  to  my  judgment,  consists  not  in  anarchy.  Liberty  is 
not  license.  Freedom  consists  in  living  under  a  reign  of  law,  which  law  is 
made  by  the  consent  of  the  people  who  are  ruled  by  it  and  administered  by  offi- 
cers responsible  to  and  appointed  by  the  pf  ople  who  are  ruled  by  it.  ( Ap- 
plause.) *^ 

There  ia  the  essence  of  freedom.  That  is  the  essence  of  British  freedom, 
that  is  the  essence  of  the  freedom  of  the  United  States,  that  is  the  essence  of 
the  freedom  of  Canada,  that  is  the  essence  of  the  freedom  of  Australia.  If 
there  be  a  thing  of  which  the  mother  of  parliament's  might  boast  but  for  her 
conduct  with  ref^ence  to  Ireland,  which  she  might  boast  of  spreading  through- 
out the  world,  it  wor.ld  be  a  state  of  affairs  which  wo  'M  realize  that  condition 
with  reference  to  freedom.  I  have  said  that  tb'^  essr  ^e  of  freedom  is  that  the 
laws  should  be  made  practically  by  the  people  ho  aio  ruled,  and  administered 
by  persons  who  are  responsible  to  those  people. 

But  wlMt  is  tho  Case  ? 

Under  this  common  parliament  laws  have  been,  through  the  century,  and 
notably  since  the  Union,  more  or  less  imposed  upon  Ireland  contrary  to  the  pro- 
test and  against  the  will  and  against  the  votes  of  a  large  majority  of  her  repre- 
sentatives. They  are  so  imposed  to-day.  The  law  to  which  I  am  about  to  allude 
was  imposed  in  1886  against  the  protest  of  four-fifths  of  the  people  of  Ireland. 
Laws  are  enacted  against  our  will,  reforms  are  refused  which  four-fifths  of  the 
representatives  o*  Ireland  demand,  so  that  we  are  ruled  under  laws  which  we 
oppose  as  ar  as  we  can,  and  we  an  refused  laws  which  we  demand  as  far  as  we 
can.  Under  those  circumstances  I  want  to  know  how  much  there  remains  in 
reality  of  the  substance  of  freedom  in  the  making  of  laws  for  Ireland.  Nothing 
whatever. 

What  is  the  result  ?  What  is  to  follow }  Take  a  happier  condition.  Take 
the  condition  of  England  itself,  take  the  condition  of  the  United  States,  take 
the  condition  of  Canada  and  Australia  —  two  great  self-governing  common- 
wealths. Now  in  these  happier  countries,  mark  you,  the  administration  of 
law  —  for  I  now  come  from  the  making  to  the  administration  —  the  administra- 
tion of  the  law  is  comparatively  easy  because  it  is  a  law  which  is  the  people'g 


■re 


is  the  wont 
^•<e  people, 

'  '>«e  lecuri- 
must  be  a 
you  charge 


law,  it  is  a  |M>puIar  law ;  all  men  approve  of  it  except  a  few.  but  the  ma<ority 
of  the  people  is  in  fav-  of  it.  Kver.  when  such  laws  are  thus  eaay  to 
enforce  it  necessary  to  prescribe  securities  for  the  i.tdividual  against  perversion 
o*  the  law;  and  thi  e  are  fundamental  and  ordinary  inc',  commonplace  securities. 
There  would  be  rebellion  and  revolution  if  it  were  necessary,  in  those  countries 
that  I  have  nimed  if  those  securities  were  attempted  to  be  taken  away. 

What  do««  Happen? 

\ye  know  that  oppression  may  exist  in  the  guise  of  law.     It 
possible  kind  of  oppressic      for  the  forms  of  law  are  reverenced  h 
And  their  abuse  is  the  grt     est  of  public  crimes.     Now,  what  ai: 
ties?     I  deal  with  rnmiiial  matters  mainly.     The  first  is  that 
clear  and  plain  statement  in  the  indictment  of  the  crime  with  wr 
the  man  against  whom  you  invoke  the  m.ijesty  of  the  State  in  justice  ;  second^ 
that  the  facts    ^  to  be  tried  l>y  a  jury  of  the  people  indifferently  chosen  ;  lastly, 
that  those  fa.,    are  to  be  tried  under  the  direction  of,  and  the  law  is  to  be 
delivered  by,  independent  and  Impartial  judges  chosen  for  their  high  qualifi- 
cations for  positions  on  the  bench,  respected  by  the  people,  men  whose  whole 
function  and  object  and  aim  is  to  maintain  by  their  conduct  their  just  reputation 
for  integrity  and  impartiality.    ^  Applause.)   There  is  what  you  get  In  security— 
a  clear  statement  of  what  yr  i  are  charged   with,  a  jury  chosen  fairly  from 
amongst  the  people  to  find       s  facts,  a  jury  on  whom  you  can  depend,  and  a 
judge  independent  of  the  Sf      ,  holding  his  office  during  good  behavior  and  not 
susceptible  of  removal  except  for  cause  and  whose  function  is  such  that  he 
shall  charge  as  to  the  facts  and  instruct  ind  direct  as  to  the  law.     In  Ireland  at 
this  time  of  day  and  under  ordinary  conditions,  even  where  the  special  act  to 
whicn  I  am  to  refer  is  not  in  force,  in  Irela       some  of  these  k.)ain  conditions 
do  not  apply,  and  where  that  act  is  put  in  fo.      ;hey  are  all  .bsolutely  reversed. 
Nor  can  you  wonder,  because  it  is  a  necessarj      suit  of  imposing  laws  on  people 
against  their  will  that  you  must  take  extraordinary  efforts  to  secure  convictions. 
In  Ireland  instead  of  an  independent  bar,  with  honorable  aspirations  to  seats 
on  the  bench  which  it  may  nourish  and  maintain,  taking  an  honorable  part  in 
politics,  you  have  a  bar  bribed  from  the  time  a  man  aspires  to  become  a  bar- 
rister at  all,  bribed  by  an  excessive  number  of  scandalously  overpaid  judgeships 
and  other  offices,  judgeships  in  which  the  judges  with  very  light  work  and  with 
an  absolutely  secure  tenure,  and  with  a  large  retiring  allowance  as  soon  as  in- 
firmity succeeds,  yet  get  a  larger  salary  than  the  best  of  them  can  earn  by  his 
precarious  labors  at  the  bar. 

In  Ireland  there  is  thus  such  a  condition  as  does  not  obtain  anywhere  else  in 
the  world.  What  is  the  road  to  the  bench  and  to  the  law  offices  in  Ireland  ? 
The  road  to  the  bench  or  to  the  law  offices  is  the  road  of  abnegation  of  national 
aspirations,  the  road  is  the  road  of  maintaining  the  so-called  Union,  the  road  for 
those  who  were  born  under  circumstances  and  of  parents  and  in  a  class  which 
might  have  rightly  made  them  nationalists,  the  road  is  the  road  of  suppression 
.xnd  of  perversion  of  their  political  ft  .h.  Practically  access  to  these  high  offices 
is  barred  to  the  nationalists.  Practically  the  judgeships  and  the  officerships 
are  composed  or  drawn  from  one  small  section  of  the  community.  Yes,  pracfi- 
cally  these  dazzling  bribes  to  which  I  have  referred  are  held  before  a  profession 
which  after  all,  though  it  is  laughed  at  and  -abused,  has  always  been  found  to 
contain  within  its  ranks  the  most  able  and  the  most  eminent  defenders  of  the 
cause  of  liberty.     I  could  give  you  names  in  your  own  Union  in  iiluatration  of 


this,  and  I  will  remind  you  that  there  was  a  most  able  Irish  bar  at  the  time 
of  the  Union  of  which  the  vast,  the  overwhelming  majority  sent  a  protest 
against  that  Union  at  that  day.     (Applause.) 

Such  is  the  condition  with  reference  to  the  bar.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that 
they  are  all  purchasable  to-day.  Thank  God,  there  are  able  men  at  the  bar  who 
are  Nationalists  to-day.  But  is  that  a  fair  condition  of  things  ?  The  other 
point  to  which  I  would  refer  is  aj  to  the  juries.  I  am  reminded  that  you  know 
of  the  packing  of  juries,  and  many  a  lawyer,  more  than  one,  we  know,  has 
changed  from  a  patriot  into  a  jury  packer.     (Applause  and  laughter.) 

What  Happens? 

Take  a  county  in  which  there  are  perhaps  ninety  or  ninety-five  per  cent,  of 
the  population   Catholics,   in  which  by  consequence— naturally— on  a  large 
jury  panel  there  will  be  a  large  preponderance  of  Catholics  if  the  jury  panel  is 
at  all  fairly  struck.     But  the  crown  has  the  power  when  a  juror  is  called  up  to 
go  into  the  box,  without  cause  assigned  at  all  to  say  as  a  matter  of  right  to  A  B, 
or  C,  as  he  comes  up,  »  Stand  by."    Suppose  there  were  a  hundred  men  on  the 
panel  and  there  were  fifteen  or  twenty  of  them  thought  safe  for  the  crown  and 
eighty  or  eighty-five  nf  them  thought  not  safe  for  the  crown,  it  is  only  necessary 
for  the  crown  to  go  on  saying  to  those  men  as  they  come  up  who  are  not  safe^ 
•  Stand  by,     and  then  you  can  get  your  twelve  men  for  your  jury  out  of  the 
twenty  or  twenty-five.     And  it  is  not  at  all  because  they  happen  to  be  Protes- 
tants ;  Oh,  no !    They  assure  us  that  it  is  not  so.    They  don't  know  anvthine 
about  re  igious  faith.     But  it  has  so  happened  not  infrequently,  and  it  has  been 
frequently  stated  without  contradiction  in  the  house  of  commons;  it  has  so  hap- 
pened that  where  the  panel  was  enormously  Catholic  and  where  tlie  trial  was  of 
Catholics,  it  has  so  happened  that  twelve  men,  of  course  fair,  and  of  course  im- 
partial  Protestants  have  constituted  the  jury  to  try  their  Catholic  fellow  country- 
men. (Applause  and  laughter.)     That  is  in  the  ordinary  course  of  justice.     But 
let  us  get  to  the  condition  which  exists  in  half  of  Ireland  to-day  and  which  may 
exist  in  all  of  Ireland  to-morrow.     Let  me  say  to  you  first  that  these  things  would 
be  absolutely  impossible  to  be  done  in  England.     If  these  things  should  be  at- 
tempted in  England  there  would  be  such  a  disturbance  and  indignation  that  a 
government  which  suffered  tl.em  would  not  exist  for  more  than  the  time  necessary 
to  turn  them  out     And  yet  the  same  English  people  who  would  so  deal  with 
such  a  perversion  of  justicj  as  I  have  described,  somehow  or  other  we  cannot 
get  out  of  their  heads  that  what  would  be  injustice  for  them  is  not  the  height 
of  justice  and  good  for  Ireland.     (Applause.) 


But  that  is  not  EnouKh. 

It  is  not  always  safe  to  depend  upon  "  Stand  by  "  because  somehow  or  other 
a  man  who  is  not  safe  may  slip  in  upon  the  jury  and  there  may  be  a  disagree- 
ment, and  that  is  very  uncomfortable,  because  a  conviction  is  what  is  sought  • 
and  then  the  Act  of  1886  is  used.  The  forms  of  justice  even  are  abolished' 
The  Castle  can  when  it  pleases  proclaim  a  district,  and  by  that  proclamation 
they  bring  into  force  the  infamous  law  of  1886  just  at  the  will  of  the  executive 
authorities.  That  law  is  brought  into  force,  making  some  new  crimes,  and  for 
old  crimes  and  new  to  which  it  relates  are  removed  those  securities  for  justice  to 
which  I  have  referred. 


What  Happens  then  ? 

As  to  the  form  of  the  charge.  The  clear  and  precise  and  plain  sUtement 
of  the  crime  is  no  longer  necessary.  It  is  a  summary  proceeding ;  and  the 
judges  have  held  that  the  same  particularity  and  precision  which  the  law  de- 
mands in  the  ordinary  course  is  not  required  in  the  case  of  a  summons  under 
the  Crimes  Acts.  Secondly  the  juries  are  abolished  for  the  reason  that  I  have 
mentioned,  that  even  with  all  of  their  care  and  the  use  of  "  Stand  by,"  a  jury 
may  sometimes  contain  a  dissentient.  And  the  facts,  instead  of  being  tried  by 
a  jury  of  the  land,  of  those  people  who  are  supposed  to  make  and  to  suffer  under 
the  law,  the  facts  are  tried  by  magistrates.  If  such  a  thing  were  done  in  Eng- 
land as  to  have  the  facts  tried  by  judges  instead  of  by  juries,  there  would  be  such 
a  disturbance  as  would  drive  out  the  government.  Yet  not  only  the  law  but 
the  facts  are  tried  by  those  same  magistrates. 

I  have  told  you  that  the  fate  of  the  accused  is  in  the  hands,  instead  of  a 
jury  and  of  a  high  independent  judge,  the  fate  of  the  accused  is  in  the  hands 
of  two — what  we  call  "  removeable  "  magistrates. 

What  kind  of  Men  are  those? 

They  are  not  high  class  lawyers  appointed  to  administer,  general  justice 
to  the  whole  community  in  all  matters,  independent  of  the  government, 
jealous  of  their  reputation  for  integrity.  Not  at  all.  They  are,  relatively 
speaking,  inferior  men,  not  thoroughly  trained  in  the  law,  and  most  of  them 
not  trained  at  all  in  the  law,  but  chosen  mainly  from  the  ranks  of  the  con- 
stabulary and  from  the  military  and  naval  ranks.  That  is  about  the  very 
worst  training  you  could  suggest  for  the  office  of  magistrate  for  the  discharg- 
ing of  criminal  justice.  You  set  an  old  constable  to  do  this  business.  What 
can  you  expect  ?  Why,  his  whole  life  has  been  passed  in  suspecting  crime  and 
finding  out  crime,  and  I  am  sorry  to  say  sometimes — of  which  we  know  one 
notorious  instance — in  inventing  and  creating  crime.  From  those  ranks  are 
appointed  the  judges. 

What  is  their  Tenure  of  Office  ? 

They  are  removable  from  office  without  cause  assigned,  without  trial  or  in- 
quiry, at  short  notice — I  believe  three  months'  notice — by  the  executive.  Their 
salaries  are  not  fixed.  They  are  on  the  votes  and  they  can  be  stopped.  They 
have  no  security  of  tenure.  They  are  servants.  They  are  subject  to  be  reduced 
or  to  be  promoted,  because  a  great  many  of  the  magistracies  are  better  than 
others,  and  others  worse  than  the  best ;  they  may  be  changed  about  and  so  they 
are  subject  to  promotion  or  degradation.  They  do  not  take  the  duty  in  rotation 
or  in  general  order,  so  that  you  may  have  the  chances  at  any  rate,  of  your  man. 

But  on  the  occasion  of  each  trial  under  the  coercion  act  the  men  are  picked 
out  by  prosecuting  officers  at  the  ca.stle  and  sent  down  to  conduct  the  trial.  They 
are  picked  for  the  purpose,  I  do  not  say  of  convicting,  of  course  not,  but  of  try- 
ing the  accused.  So  contrary  is  this  to  the  practice  in  other  countries,  in  Eng- 
land and  elsewhere,  that  the  rule  is  that  the  same  judge  does  not  go  to  the 
same  assizes  twice  in  succession.  The  castle,  as  I  say,  picks  out  those  it  thinks 
the  fit  persons  to  try  each  case  under  this  act.  Then  on  what  evidence  do  they 
generally  act?  They  act  on  the  evidence,  mayhap,  of  police  constables,  their 
old  coUeagaes  in  the  constabulary — on  whom  at  any  rate  they  look  with  those 
favorable  feelings  towards  their  evidence  that  people  naturally  entertain  towards 
a  profession  in  which  they  themselves  have  been  engaged  so  long.    And  you 


r^Shamr^    ThaTufiT       °"V""'*?"  *"«  a^'h  of  some  innocent  individuals 

o.  Ireland  ,3a.,. .'dt:?.rb:LT"XX'd?l^^^^^ 

court  matters.     They  involve  connection  with  tL«- lu-        ^  [»?««  are  not  police 

,.cj.d  ««„«j.  „t  Lny,  LT^rrcred  ^r,  «df»'„  ■ts'ts 

of  the  press,  freedom  of  public  assemblies  and  th^  rJn^rV^  i*  '^  '  J-  °™ 
public  assemblies  and  comments  thSeon  Thev  ,S^^  of  proceedmgs  of 
with  the  law  of  public  meeting  and  of  the   p%ssThlStf°°'  '°""'''=*"** 

license  of  the  press,  but  who  would  fav^rTnUingtLfwouIdT^it^tt^-'  *'' 
at  the  expense  of  limiting  the  freedom  of  the  press  '  Fr^e^nl  ^  .1,  '"^^"^ 
the  palladium  of  libertf  and   yet  you  find  nSaDefedfto?,    f      "" "'"  •  " 

rlt  r  "•"^'!.  -'^T^'l  --blie's  and  coStrg^f  he;'°;enr?o°1aif 

Then  there  is  the  border  line  between  oolitical  amfation  ...a  Z'    •     i       ^     ' 

That  is  a  very  important,  but  also  a  ver/fiSe^  ^  """'""'  "*'°"- 

Now  in  times  of  high  excitement,  when  the  people  feel  that  injustice  is  h^in^ 

would  be  perfectly  Si.  for  I  am  a^fw  lawlnd  I  am  .n  f  ^-  ^f^?  ^'Jl'^^^ 
»^i  J^  ,      ^"^  "t""'''  "y»  something  which  a  removable  magisSte  thfnU 

I  will  add  only  one  thing  more  to  this  far  ago  of  abuses.     There  is  an  old  1»», 

d«.>e  In  "^^  *"?"  °*  ^"^^'^  '"'  ^''•^•^  the  parliament  of  Edward  VII  shows  no 
desire  to  repeal  empowering  a  magistrate  to  hold  you  to  bail  for  Sod  h^ 


yet  we  will  hold  you  to  bail,"  and  they  required  him  to  go  to  jaU  until  he  fur- 
nished the  bail.  \  ' 

Under  the  coercion  act  one  may  be  sentenced  to  six  months  imprisonment, 
so  that  when  a  man  is  convicted  under  the  coercion  act  he  may  be  given  six 
months  by  the  magistrate,  and  also  the  magistrate  may  hold  him  to  bail  to  be 
of  good  behaviour,  and  if  he  does  not  give  bail  may  give  him  six  months  more 
practically  making  a  twelve  months  sentence  for  an  act  tried  and  disposed  of 
under  a  law  which  gives  it  a  six  months'  penalty,  I  ask  what  remnant  of  free- 
dom there  IS  m  a  country  whose  laws  are  made  against  the  wUl  of  its  people 
in  the  way  I  have  described,  whose  laws  are  administered  in  the  manner  I  have 
described,  and  that  in  reference  to  the  subject  which  is  of  the  deepest  interest 
and  concern,  in  which  there  is  the  widest  and  most  general  feeline  on  the  oart 
of  the  people?  *  *^ 

Men  are  sent  to  jail  under  this  system  for  six  months  and  they  are  by  the 
operation  of  this  system,  deprived— i>w/wA>_  of  their  honors  and  their  ser- 
vice in  their  own  community,  because  a  man  who  is  sentenced  to  hard  labor 
18,  by  the  law  ineligible  for  five  years  to  serve  his  county  or  his  district,  so  that 
a  man  may  be  a  municipal  councilor  and  by  the  coercion  courts  he  may  be  sen- 
tenced to  be  imprisoned  at  hard  labor  and  by  that  sentence  he  is  not  merely 
nnpnsoned  and  deprived  of  his  liberty,  but  at  the  end  of  that  time  he  has  lost 
his  councillorship.  his  people  have  lost  the  benefit  of  his  services,  and  for  five 
years  he  is  a  proscribed  man.  As  to  a  large  part  of  thU  jurisdiction  there  is  no 
appeal,  and  in  all  the  cases  of  the  holding  to  bail,  almost  all  the  cases,  there  is 
no  appeal  whatever. 

Can  you  wonder,  Gentlemen,  is  it  possible  to  wonder  that  under  these 
conditions  the  administration  of  justice  in  Ireland  is  held  by  the  people  in  the 
contempt  and  hatred  in  which  it  is  held.  How  ought  the  administration  of 
justice,  such  as  I  have  described,  to  be  he'd  ?  How  ought  the  administration  of 
justice  to  be  conducted?  As  it  is  in  your  country  and  in  England  and  in  my 
own  country  and  in  Australia.  How  ought  the  administration  of  justice  to  be 
treated?  As  the  most  precious  possession  of  the  people,  with  magistrates  hon- 
ored and  decisions  respected.  In  Ireland  the  administration  of  justice  is  con- 
demned and  despised,  and  the  magistrates  do  not  receive  veneration  or 
admiration.  Can  you  wonder?  Can  you  be  surprised,  and  can  this  condition 
which  I  have  described  to  you  be  stated  as  otherwise  than  as  one  of  laws  made 
and  laws  executed  by  force  ? 

What  is  the  condition  of  living  under  laws  made  and  executed  by  force  but 
a  condition  of  absolute  slavery?  I  am  not  surprised,  for  all  this  is  but  the 
logical  result  of  the  attempt  to  govern  a  people  against  that  people's  will  f  Ap- 
plause.)  The  remedy,  gentlemen,  is  simple,  the  remedy  is  sure,  the  remedy  is 
complete,  and  there  is  but  one  remedy  in  the  world.  It  is  to  abandon  the 
attempt  and  let  the  people  govern  themselves.  (Applause.)  It  is  in  the  eflFort 
to  persuade  and  to  press  the  ruling  power  to  accept  that  view  and  to  give  the 
people  that  which  they  keep  for  themselves,  which  they  have  given  to  other 
countries,  that  which  you  yourselves  inherit  from  then.,  that  we  toil.  It  is  to  per- 
suade the  ruling  power  to  give  Ireland  that  self-government  which  is  her  birA- 
nght  and  which  she  must  in  the  end  obtain  that  we  labor :  and  with  confidence 
we  ask  you  to  help  our  labors.     (Great  applause.) 


